Auto-Sleeper Stanway

Berths: 2 Travel seats: 4 Base vehicle: Peugeot Boxer LWB window van Gross vehicle weight: 3,500kg Payload: 496kg

The Stanway van conversion, produced by one of the doyens of British motorhome manufacturing Auto-Sleepers, looks conventional from the outside. But it contains a layout that’s different to most of the competition.

In standard spec, it’s only the passenger seat that swivels and it’s a useful pew, made more comfortable by a narrow section of raised floor that forms a footrest. Next in line is the first unusual item: a pullman dinette provides seating and eating facilities for a quartet of diners and a double bed for two residents. In the rear, there’s a surprisingly spacious kitchen with washroom alongside.

This is not a cheap ’van so you might expect the base vehicle specification to be high and it is. The good news is that the 150-horsepower motor is fitted as standard and there’s a passenger airbag, electric windows and remote locking. However, to get the desirable cruise control and cab air-con you’ll need to buy the Premium Pack of extras. That also gets you alloy wheels, an awning and a reversing camera with interior mirror-replacing monitor.

The on-road experience was as expected from a Peugeot – very willing and good to drive, although it can be a bit rattly on start-up and slightly harsh-running. The engine upgrade is great, producing plenty of go – this should only get better as things loosen up. The reversing camera set-up worked well too.

The side sliding door opens on an unencumbered entrance way, while a wide, slide-out cassette step helps you aboard. There’s a good feeling of space in the lounge/diner. Natural illumination mainly comes from the cab windows and a rooflight – the side windows are quite heavily tinted, so did make the interior a little gloomy. Thankfully, there is an excellent range of LED-powered artificial lighting – I particularly liked the ceiling lamps with touch-switching in their centres.

The pullman provides good dining for four people at a push and plenty of room for two residents. It also provides two forward-facing, belted travel places.

Buyers can specify a swivel driver’s seat as an optional extra if they wish. It may be a good idea as just aft of the door is a socket-equipped home for a TV.

Sleeping options number just one: a lengthways double made from the dinette. The lowered table and extension fill the gap between the seats and extensions slide out to complete the base.

There are a number of infill cushions that are required to complete the bed. It’s easy enough once you’ve worked out where they all go, but there are joins between the cushions, so a mattress topper would be a good idea. There’s a decent amount of floorspace alongside the bed, so accessing the loo at night and kitchen first thing should be easy.

There is a dedicated storage cupboard for infill cushions just aft of the side door. But it doesn’t hold all of them, so some are also stowed in the slim space above the cab. And then with the overcab partially filled and only a small space available beneath the rearward-facing dinette seat, you will have to decide where your duvet and pillows will live.

Most of the area in the rear is used by the L-shaped kitchen, one of the most spacious galleys I’ve seen in a sub-six-metre conversion. It’s well-equipped, with Thetford’s half-height stove and a mains-powered microwave.

The fridge is a very reasonable size and comes with Smart Energy Selection. The triangular sink is generous and you’ll also find a 12V filter coffee maker –a thoughtful touch. Storage is reasonable, with three cupboards, and a deep drawer below the stove.

In this layout a wide kitchen means a relatively narrow washroom. But it’s quite capable, with a moulded basin, a towel rail and decent mirrors. Storage is adequate just for the bathroom basics. There’s no shower curtain in here and the integrated shower features the expected moulded-in wetroom floor, served by a separate mixer/showerhead.

On two walls, the wipe-clean moulded plastic gives way to textured wallboard, while the ceiling is covered in the same material that covers the living areas. Is this suitable in an environment that’s going to get steamy?

No less than six 230V outlets are provided. They’re in the right places, too. And along with those ceiling lights, there are reading lamps and downlighters in all the right places.

Aft of the side door and the infill cushion storage cupboard, another door opens to reveal a good range of shelves from floor to ceiling. This area is also home to an illuminated mirror with mains socket above.

Open the door and extend a low-level flap, then open the wardrobe door opposite, and the whole rear can be used as a dressing/changing area, the mains socket neatly suppling hairdryer or electric shaver.

The furniture runs hard up against the rear of the van, so there’s no stowage space inside the rear doors. Opening them reveals access to the toilet cassette, gas isolation valves and heater.

The heater is Truma’s trusty and often-found Combi, here with mains electric operation.

The 3,500kg chassis means anyone with a car licence can drive this Peugeot and payload is excellent, although there isn’t the space to carry bulky items. Three overhead lockers in the lounge are helped by a galleried shelf above the side sliding door.

This is an abridged version of the full review appearing in the April 2016 issue of MMM.

The Stanway majors on admittedly excellent cooking and eating facilities, but this is at the expense of lounging, sleeping and washing spaces. We would definitely go for the swivelling driver’s seat option, and you still need to work out where to put all those infill cushions.